Blame For Ww1 Germany

World War One was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from July 1914 to November 1918. The main countries that took part in this war were Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and Germany and though many believe Germany was much to blame for starting the war, this is still widely debated. In order to determine the extent of Germany’s responsibility in WW1, this essay will consider the various arguments in the responsibility debate from the Treaty of Versailles and the events leading up to the Great War.
In June 1919, the first official document was made concerning the causes of the First World War in the Treaty of Versailles. This document was a peace treaty between the Allies and Germany at the end of the First World

Taylor. Taylor claimed that though it was a war that everyone had some blame, Germany was to blame more so than others. In 1954, Taylor published a book titled ‘The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918’ which claimed that Germany’s ambitions caused conflict. Taylor believed that Germany’s want for continental supremacy was a leading cause in the outbreak of the European war. However, in his study, ‘War by Timetable’, Taylor examined the origins of the First World War and concluded that the mobilisation plans of all the Great Powers increased tension throughout the countries and the idea that a peaceful solution could be provided was futile . Similarly, to Fay’s viewpoint, Taylor examined that all the Great Powers were accountable for some blame as all had been involved or somewhat infected by the domino effect of mobilisation and all had militaristic aims. However, Taylor believed that Germany had greater responsibility for the outbreak of the war as their mobilisation and war aims were established in a document titled the Schlieffen Plan, perfected in 1905. This document stated that, in case of an outbreak of war, Germany would attack France first and then Russia. Taylor claimed that Germany was to blame more than the other countries as their war plans were portrayed as

However, the responsibility debate took a drastic turn when German Historian, Fritz Fischer, claimed that the outbreak of the war was solely Germany’s fault as they were planning an aggressive war. Fischer’s book, ‘Germany’s Aims in the First World War’, originally published in 1961 and then in English in 1967, focused mainly on Germany’s foreign policy and the aims of German leadership. Fischer also mentioned the significance of the September Programme in his book. The September programme was a document produced by Germany that stated German war aims in 1914 . However, Fischer claimed that this document was so detailed that it could not have been produced during the short period between the July Crisis and September 1914. Thus, implying that Germany had prepared this document before the threat or idea of war and before the July crisis had occurred. Fischer claimed that this significantly proved that Germany had a desire and preparation before the war, even before the idea of a war existed